Rail Yard Dawgs 6-0 win leads to series sweep over Birmingham Bulls

ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs advanced to the semifinal round of the SPHL President’s Cup Playoffs with a 6-0 win over the Birmingham Bulls on Saturday night at Berglund Center, completing a two-game sweep of the opening-round series.

Roanoke (2-0) became the first team to clinch a spot in the semifinals, outscoring Birmingham (0-2) 13-1 across the series after a 7-1 victory in Game 1.

Five different players scored for the Dawgs in Game 2, led by Gustav Müller’s two goals. Roanoke also added two short-handed goals, surpassing its regular-season total in a single period.

The Dawgs controlled play early, recording the game’s first eight shots and holding a 13-3 advantage in the opening period. Müller opened the scoring on a passing sequence from Bryce Martin and Joe Widmar, giving Roanoke a 1-0 lead after the first intermission.

Roanoke broke the game open in the second period with a pair of short-handed goals. Dominiks Marcinkevics scored at the 9:10 mark, and Noah Finstrom added another more than eight minutes later off a feed from David Novotny, extending the lead to 3-0.

The Dawgs continued to pull away in the third period. Novotny, Müller and Sebastian Smith each scored to cap the 6-0 victory. Roanoke finished with a 37-17 edge in shots.

Goaltender Austyn Roudebush recorded his 15th career postseason victory, the most in SPHL history, and earned his first playoff shutout since April 15, 2023.

Roanoke also excelled on special teams, killing all six Birmingham power plays while scoring twice short-handed.

The Dawgs advance to the semifinal round for the first time since 2024.